Rules of engagement: 1) You do not have to register to leave comments on this blog. 2) I do not respond to anonymous comments. 3) I reserve the right to delete defamatory, racist, sexist or anti-gay comments. 4) I delete advertisements that slip thru the google spam folder as I see fit.

Friday, June 08, 2007

The people of Nigeria vs Pfizer Inc

ABUJA, Nigeria -- The Nigerian government filed a lawsuit Mondayagainst Pfizer Inc., asking for $7 billion in damages over allegationsthe pharmaceutical company conducted a drug experiment that led todeaths and disabilities among children more than a decade ago, courtpapers showed.

The civil case filed in the capital, Abuja, is separate from a legalchallenge launched in the northern state of Kano that seeks $2 billionfrom Pfizer, although all the cases stem from the same mid-1990s drugstudy.

Pfizer has denied the charges in the Kano case, which aresubstantively similar to those in the Abuja-based suit.

In the civil suit filed in Kano, authorities allege Pfizer illegallyconducted a drug experiment on 200 children during a meningitisepidemic in the state's main city, also called Kano, in 1996,resulting in deaths, brain damage, paralysis and slurred speech inmany of the children.

Pfizer treated 100 meningitis-infected children with an experimentalantibiotic, Trovan. Another 100 children, who were control patients inthe study, received an approved antibiotic, ceftriaxone -- but thedose was lower than recommended, the families' lawyers alleged.

Up to 11 children in the study died, while others suffered physicaldisabilities and brain damage.

Pfizer has insisted its records show none of the deaths was linked toTrovan or substandard treatment. That civil suit is asking the judgeto award Kano state $2 billion. Both that case and a related criminalaction against Pfizer officers were both postponed Monday after theplaintiff's counsel failed to show up for the initial court hearing.

The judge hearing the case said criminal proceedings lodged againstcompany officers would now begin July 4, while a related civil caseseeking the monetary damages was to begin July 9.

State and company officials were not immediately available forcomment. Nigeria's government is in disarray after the May 29inauguration of new governors, state assemblies and elected federalofficers, including a new president.

In the Abuja civil case, the government is asking for $500 million fortreatment, compensation and support for the victims of the drug testand their families. Another $450 million is earmarked for damagesrelated to money spent to overcome societal misgivings related to thetest, and $1 billion is sought to pay for health programs. The federalgovernment is also seeking $5 billion as general damages.

New York-based Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, has denied anywrongdoing. A federal court in Manhattan dismissed a 2001 lawsuit bydisabled Nigerians who allegedly took part in the study, but the caseis under appeal.

Authorities in Kano state are blaming the Pfizer controversy forwidespread suspicion of government public health policies,particularly the global effort to vaccinate children against polio,which has met strong resistance in northern Nigeria.

Islamic leaders in largely Muslim Kano had seized on the Pfizercontroversy as evidence of a U.S.-led conspiracy. Rumors that poliovaccines spread AIDS or infertility spurred Kano and another heavilyMuslim state, Zamfara, to boycott a long-term campaign to vaccinatemillions.

Vaccination programs restarted in Nigeria in 2004, after an 11-monthboycott. But the delay set back global eradication -- the boycott wasblamed for causing an outbreak that spread the disease across Africaand into the Middle East.